Maenkiwa
Region: Maenkiwa, Quiet Valley, Geddor's Climb, Geddor, Volanil Summary A settlement on a hill with a steep switchback main road, in the southwest portion of Quiet Valley. Typically the host of Valley Meets, and has a reputation throughout Quiet Valley and Geddor's Climb as a hotspot for criminal activity. Whether this reputation reflects reality is not considered an important factor among the people who promote it. Architecture and Design Typical Volanil architecture: black igneous rock with wooden supports. Climate and Geography Located in Quiet Valley, the climate is generally temperate, although a cold wind sweeps in through the narrow pass to the north of the valley. Natural Resources Most settlements in Quiet Valley rely on their hunting exports to Molsten, but Maenkiwa upholds the ancient Volanil tradition of having a strong mining community. Foundation and Culture Maenkiwa was founded by Velspira, a Tiefling who had been looking for a new start. Legend tells she had once been traveling with Finethil of Finethil's Rest, but some forgotten rift had broken them apart, and she settled on a hillside chosen because it hid Finethil's settlement from her sight. She named her settlement "Maenkiwa" after the Infernal word for forgiveness. The town attracts both wanted and pardoned criminals, with the general understanding that it's a respectable place where they can find a fresh start. Unique Traits Citizens of Maenkiwa are typically unafraid of talking about their pasts; given the understanding that they are now going to be upstanding members of society, telling stories of even the most heinous crimes is generally regarded as more bardic than confessional. Citizens who have no sordid pasts are more than welcome, insofar as they don't judge the persons there who do. Local Food and Entertainment Entertainment is sparse; professionals traveling through to Molsten tend to avoid Maenkiwa due to its reputation. Most entertainment in the town relies upon retellings of the citizens' crimes, those of their ancestors, or even legendary ones, the stories passed down by oral tradition. The townsfolk claim that Maenkiwa was the birthplace of the Three Queens' Concubine Daroth Direllion, although this has never been proven. Disposition to Outsiders Maenkiwa is as welcoming to outsiders as it is indiscerning. So long as crime itself stays outside of the town limits, they allow anyone directly into their good graces. Religion A few different religions are practiced here, but there isn't very much infrastructure for them. Most services are held in people's homes or outside in clearings in the nearby forest. Government Maenkiwa tends to host Valley Meets due to forces no one really understands. They are hosted in the Town Hall building near the entrance to the town by the river, which is also really the only administrative building in the settlement. Maenkiwa's representative in the Valley Meets is Bhelkyl, a dwarf who had once been a smuggler out of Elvenport. Politics Maenkiwa's preferred Valley Meet representative is a newcomer who has done the most impressive crime. Degree of violence is not an important factor in this decision; the most appealing representative is the citizen who has pulled off the most complicated crime and gotten away with it (or at least, was captured because of a portion of the crime which was an accident or otherwise not their fault). The citizens of Maenkiwa prefer to elect newcomers because they tend to have shown the most personal growth. People who have lived in this town all their life (and therefore haven't done many crimes) have little chance of having grown as perceptibly. Crime and Justice This settlement's sordid reputation comes from the history of its citizens, and overlooks one very important caveat in Maenkiwa's culture: crime is a thing of the past, not the present. Crimes of every sort are looked down upon culturally, although breaking the law tends to have more of an 'honor among thieves' betrayal to it than 'captured by a police force run by authority'. The punishment for any crime is expulsion from the community, and anyone expulsed this way can come back as if they're a newcomer after a number of years (dependent upon the severity of the crime). Commerce and Trade The situation of the town along the river and nestled between the mountain and the forest means it can fend for itself when it needs to, but they also trade the steel goods they produce as well as raw ore mined from their iron vein. .